The Adventures of Jaylu the Meerkat
by Caleb16
Summary: This is a story I started writing a few months ago as an experiment. I will update 3 chapters, one every week, and then I will see how well it goes. Depending on how well it goes depends on whether or not I will continue updating. Thank you to all who take their time to read this story.
1. Chapter 1

The Adventures of Jaylu the meerkat

Chapter 1

Silence.  
That was the only word Jaylu could think of to describe his surroundings. It had been days after he had left his village which, in his case, wasn't anything out of the ordinary. It was normal for the young meerkat to take walks that were days or even weeks long. But in all that time, he had never heard such nothingness. Now it seemed to be the only thing around him.  
"It's all right" he thought. "The forest is always silent. I'm just listening too close right now". But in his heart he knew something wasn't right.  
He was correct in his assumption; the forest was just as quiet as it always was. And if you weren't on your own, you would easily overlook it. But Jaylu was a meerkat, and was taught by his parents and elders to be aware of his surroundings, listen to the forest, and, to a degree, feel the motions of the world.  
And all of his knowledge told him that all was not right.  
Wanting to keep his journey an enjoyable experience, he foolishly tried to ignore it for a while. But the feeling just became stronger, to the point where he felt fear gripping him. He decided enough was enough. He went to find out what was wrong.  
His stealth skills he'd been taught he did not learn in vain. To anyone who might have been watching, they wouldn't have noticed his slight changes in his walking, in which he slowly applied less pressure to the ground with each step, and he started walking slightly to the left. In a few yards he would be off the road and out of sight.  
 _A hunter will almost always try to sneak up from behind_ ,' he remembered his parents saying, _'so first get out of the open without seeming to do so to the best of your ability. Most predators will hunt by hearing and smell, so if you change the sound of your walking until you are silent, they won't notice you're on to them._  
Even though he was sure he wasn't being followed, he listened to these instructions obediently .When he got off the road he immediately started taking in his surrounds, _for if you have to hide or make a run for it, make sure you have as much an advantage over your predator as possible._ "Trees to the left and right of the road, trees to the right go far and get thicker, trees on my side are much thinner and lead out to the Flatlands and prairies, which after a few hours travel lead to the mountains." He spoke softly to himself as he crouched in the bushes.  
He reached into the sack he always carried with him and pulled out his Knocker, as it was formally called. It was really nothing more than a knot of wood, but it was carefully carved and oiled to become a weapon strong as an ash tree trunk. It was the official weapon of the meerkats. Any young meerkat who reached his sixth season of age received one. This tradition was rarely, if at all broken, and Jaylu was no exception.  
He smiled as he fitted his tail through the hollow hole in the center of it and fastened it tight. It wasn't a fancy weapon, but was very special to him. He still remembered his father helping him carve it for himself. It made him think of his home, his soft bed, the delicious meals his mother, sister, and cousins made, and the beautiful village he lived in. He thought also of the discomfort that happened there only months ago...


	2. Chapter 2

The Adventures of Jaylu the meerkat

Chapter 2 

THUD! That was the sound made when Jaylu's Knocker made contact with the side of Lytik's jaw. The other meerkat's feet actually left the ground and he flew several feet before he landed on his back, out cold. In the silence that followed, the only sound to be heard was Jaylu's heavy breathing.  
Then the silence was broken when another young meerkat walked forward and bellowed out, "That's the match!" All the other young meerkats stood up and cheered for Jaylu, breaking the ring they had first created around the two participants. Jaylu accepted their congratulations happily, even though he had been expecting to win the Knocker Match in the first place.  
He was the best among the youthful meerkats at Knocker Matches, which was the head sport of the meerkats. Special softeners were made for this sport to soften the Knockers just enough to make them unable to deal killing blows. But still powerful enough to make it a dangerous hobby. But a hobby it was for Jaylu! He could already best a few of the adult meerkats at Knocker Matches. But the law of Taltaleer which was the name of the village he lived in, permitted only meerkats of Sixteen or more seasons to be able to participate in the Knocker League, which was held once every season.  
If, however, the village Bishop, who was the leader of the village, decided that a youth proved able enough, then he could be allowed to participate at fifteen seasons of age. But for Jaylu, who was only of twelve seasons, it was still such a long wait. Oh, of course he would be able to participate at fifteen, but it was still a long wait. Which was why he did as many Knocker Matches as he could, which was what he was doing now.  
"Very well done Jaylu." said a familiar voice behind him. He turned around and smiled. "Thanks Till." She smiled back. Shiltillia, or Till as everyone called her, was Jaylu's best friend as well as his cousin. Unlike most other female meerkats her age she took an interest in the Knocker Matches, though she never took place in them. But she was skilled enough to defend herself. She and Jaylu had grown up together and had often caused a lot of mischief when they were younger. Though they didn't do much of that anymore, they still did virtually everything together, aside from her cooking classes which she also enjoyed.  
"He left me too big an opening to ignore," Jaylu said looking at Lytik, who was just regaining conscience. Till shook her head. "I saw it. It was the same mistake he made last time you fought him." A grin started appearing on Jaylu's face. "Yes. Maybe he will remember next time."  
He walked over and helped Lytik to his feet. "How are you feeling?" He asked. The still dazed meerkat grinned at him. "Oh, I feel just fine, thank you." He paused a moment and then continued, "What happened?"  
Jaylu couldn't help but laugh at his friend's response, "You lost, that's what!"  
"Oh. Well next time you decided to knock me out, could you do so a little softer? It hurts my mouth every time I talk." Lytik rubbed his bruised jaw then asked another question, even though he knew what was coming. "What did I do wrong this time?"  
Jaylu could tell that Lytik already knew what he wrong, but he told him anyway, "Your counter-swing was done correctly, but you once again forgot to take the one step backwards to regain your balance. That threw you off so you couldn't block my next swing."  
Lytik's response was interrupted by an adult meerkat who came to Jaylu. His uniform marked his as a messenger, or Scroler as they were known.  
"Jaylu." He spoke it in a no nonsense manner. Jaylu had a bad feeling something was wrong, and tried to answer just as seriously,  
"Yes sir?" It was a terrible attempt. The Scroler took no notice and continued, "Bishop Maydle demands your presence," he spoke in the same tone. Then his eyes darkened. "He mentioned something about the banquet trolley."  
Jaylu groaned. The banquet trolley! He had forgotten all about it! Every spring, Taltaleer had a giant banquet to celebrate the making it through the winter. The banquet trolley was a giant trolley built for the feast. It was yards long and yards wide. It was even two yards high! It had been built hundreds of years earlier when the cooks for the banquet complained that it took too long to get all the food to the tables. Thus the village Bishop at the time commanded that a special trolley be built for the banquet. And the Banquet trolley was then made.  
But a few days earlier Jaylu decided to find out how it was built, so he started dissembling part of it and the result was a wheel falling off. He snuck off and hoped that it would not be discovered for a while, but someone found the shed door open a crack the morning of the current day and went to investigate, where upon they found the wheel off. The paw prints belonged to a meerkat youth, and there seemed to be only one who would do something like that.  
"Yes sir," he mumbled. The Scroler turned on his heel and walked off. Lytik didn't know what was going on, but that didn't stop him from commenting. "Uh oh, looks like you're in trouble again Jaylu," he said with the slight of a smirk on his face. Jaylu glared at him. "It sure didn't take you long to recover".


End file.
